Tragic pastor speaks of love at Tex. funeral
in Sutherland Springs, Texas, THE DEVASTATED Texas pastor whose small-town church lost 26 people in a mass shooting delivered a message of hope Saturday in a heartwrenching eulogy for a murdered couple.
The Rev. Frank Pomeroy made an unannounced appearance at the funeral for Richard and Therese Rodriguez, the first service for any of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs victims.
“The only way to overcome evil is to shower it with good,” said an emotional Pomeroy, choking up as he looked at the slain couple’s gray caskets, adorned with pink and yellow roses.
“I know your hearts are broken,” he continued. “Mine is as well. I lost a lot of friends. I lost my baby. But I chose not to give in over the darkness.”
Pomeroy’s 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle, was among the dead when lone shooter Devin Kelley burst into the church and unleashed a 450-shot fusillade on the helpless worshipers.
There was a heavy police presence outside the Grace Bible Church in La Vernia, Texas, as mourners packed every corner of the building.
Folding chairs in the lobby accommodated some of the overflow, and many in the crowd wept during a photo slideshow of the slain couple in far happier times.
“As I stand here and look at both them, I say, ‘You know what? What a perfect way to leave this world,’” said Richard’s daughter Regina.
“They left together. Not one of them had to go through mourning or having to bury each other.”
Grace Bible Senior Pastor Erin Weaver told the mourners from nearby Sutherland Springs that his church was there to offer help and support.
“We have been and will continue to pray for you,” said Weaver. “As I have been sharing with the families, it is one step at a time. But you are not alone.”
Pomeroy and his wife were out of town when the Nov. 5 killing started inside their church.
The First Baptist Church was slated to reopen its sanctuary as a memorial Sunday. The church was also preparing to hold its first worship services — at an adjacent community center — since the mass shooting.